Teaching Research Methods to MFT Master’s Students: A Comparison between Scientist-Practitioner and Research-Informed Approaches

The current study compares a traditional “scientist-practitioner” and a “research-informed” approach utilizing a sample of students from a COAMFTE accredited master’s program. Students were enrolled in a research methods course with either a “scientist-practitioner” or a “research-informed” focus. Results from both self assessment of core competencies, as well as basic research knowledge, found that both course types led to significant improvements; however neither course emerged as more significant than the other. Implications for best practices in teaching research methods in MFT training programs are discussed.     

Perceived regard explains self- esteem differences in expressivity

Baumeister, Tice, and Hutton proposed that individuals with low self-esteem (LSEs) adopt a more cautious, self-protective self-presentational style than individuals with high self-esteem (HSEs). The authors predicted that LSEs' self-protectiveness leads them to be less expressive-less revealing of their thoughts and feelings-with others than HSEs, and that this self-esteem difference is mediated by their perceptions of the interaction partner's regard for them. Two correlational studies supported these predictions (Studies 1 and 2). Moreover, LSEs became more expressive when their perceived regard was experimentally heightened-when they imagined speaking to someone who was unconditionally accepting rather than judgmental (Study 3) and when their perceptions of regard were increased through Marigold, Holmes, and Ross's compliment-reframing task (Study 4). These findings suggest that LSEs' expressiveness can be heightened through interventions that reduce their concerns about social acceptance.     

Predictors of complicated grief

Abstract

This study examined whether process variables predict an outcome of complicated grief. A turbulent and prolonged grief was predicted to occur after the death of a spouse in subjects who had self-blame, used the deceased for an extension of self, had ambivalence toward the deceased, or overcontrolled emotional responses. Ninety subjects were examined at 6, 14, and 25 months after the loss via a self-report battery of process variables and a structured clinical interview designed to assess symptoms. Subjects with complicated grief were compared with those with normative grief. Predictions were supported only in tertiary data analyses; they were not supported well in the primary and secondary statistical analyses. The authors concluded that either self-reports of process variables are inadequate measures or the theory that led to these measures and predictions is in need of revision.     

In search of clarity: self-esteem and domains of confidence and confusion

To date, research suggests that self-concept clarity is a monolithic construct: Some people have clearly defined self-concepts in all domains, whereas others do not. The authors argued that self-concept clarity is instead multifaceted and varies across trait domains. The authors predicted that social commodities (SCs; e.g., looks, popularity, social skills) would show less self-concept clarity than would communal qualities (CQs; e.g., kindness, warmth, honesty), due to domain differences in observability, ambiguity, and controllability. Results replicated past findings that self-esteem predicts self-concept clarity but also demonstrated that participants' SC self-views were less clear than their CQ self-views. Moreover, people showed greater clarity about traits that were lower in observability and higher in ambiguity and controllability. These findings suggest that everyone, regardless of self-esteem, has self-concept domains of relative confidence and confusion.     

Gender (mis)measurement: Guidelines for respecting gender diversity in psychological research

Empirical evidence affirms that gender is a nonbinary spectrum. Yet our review of recently published empirical articles reveals that demographic gender measurement in psychology still assumes that gender comprises just two categories: women and men. This common practice is problematic. It fails to represent psychologists' current understanding of gender, violates our ethical principles as scientists, and can result in gender misclassification. Psychologists' reliance on binary measures also conveys an exclusionary attitude that is contrary to recent ethical recommendations and contrary to the growing public concern about transgender rights. We extend five simple, no‐cost recommendations that begin to resolve these ethical and methodological problems: use and report, nonbinary gender measures; report the prevalence of nonbinary participants; clarify their inclusion and treatment in analysis; and use gender inclusive language. We also address common concerns expressed by researchers, including whether measuring “sex” resolves the issue and whether gender‐inclusive measures confuse or offend participants.     

How effective are the cross-examination and expert testimony safeguards? Jurors' perceptions of the suggestiveness and fairness of biased lineup procedures

Mock jurors (N = 800) viewed a videotaped trial that included information about a lineup identification procedure. Suggestiveness of the eyewitness identification procedure varied in terms of foil, instruction, and presentation biases. Expert testimony regarding the factors that influence lineup suggestiveness was also manipulated. Criteria included juror ratings of lineup suggestiveness and fairness, ratings of defendant culpability, and verdicts. Jurors were sensitive to foil bias but only minimally sensitive to instruction and presentation biases. Expert testimony enhanced juror sensitivity only to instruction bias. These results have implications for the effectiveness of cross-examination and expert testimony as safeguards against erroneous convictions resulting from mistaken identifications.     

The absent body in psychiatric diagnosis,treatment, and research

Synthese - Discussions of psychiatric nosology focus on a few popular examples of disorders, and on the validity of diagnostic criteria. Looking at Anorexia Nervosa, an example rarely mentioned in...     

Effects of rate and word boundary ambiguity on recall by normal and impaired listeners

Twenty normal-hearing and 20 hearing-impaired persons heard experimental sentences that included two syllables with an ambiguous word boundary and control sentences that did not include an ambiguous word boundary. The sentences were produced at two rates. Difficulty in generating a meaning for the ambiguous word boundary that made sense within the sentence appeared to reduce recall. For the normal-hearing persons, the difficulty with the ambiguous word boundary reduced recall of experimental sentence words when the speech was fast but not when it was slow. For the hearing-impaired persons, the difficulty reduced the recall of the experimental sentence words when the speech was slow but not when it was fast. Two weeks later, the same listeners heard a set of two syllables having ambiguous word boundaries that were isolated from their sentences. Varying speed of speaking affected the segmentation of the two syllables by the normal-hearing more than it affected the segmentation by the hearing-impaired.This work was supported by NINDS Grants No. NS10468 and 05362.